Wind Sage
by Soluke
Summary: On the night of October 10th, instead of Obito attacking, his entire clan does. The Kyuubi is still unleashed, and still sealed inside an infant Naruto, causing both Minato and Kushina to die. But what if they Shinigami wasn't the god used to complete the sealing? First story so please review! There is OC's, no parings yet. Looking for an experienced Beta Reader.
1. Chapter 1: The Birth of a Legend

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Naruto, that right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**_

_**A/N: I edited the chapter, and added more key plot points, may be worth looking over again if you already have.**_

_**Chapter 1:**_

**The Birth of a Legend**

Silence surrounded The Village Hidden in the Leaves, however silence didn't seem to extend to the outer regions of the village. In a cave on the outskirts of Konohagakure no Sato a sharp cry pierced the air.

"Dammit Minato, I'm going to kill you for this!" Kushina Uzumaki, the Red Hot Blooded Habanero, screamed at her husband as she gave birth to their son. She squeezed his hand tighter, and Minato Namikaze, The Yellow Flash of Konoha, turned pale at the grip being inflicted by his wife, but he managed to stay strong.

"It's okay Kushina", Minato encouraged, "Our child will be out any minute now."

"He's right Kushina! Just one final push!" Biwako, the wife of the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, exclaimed. And true to her word, with a loud yell from Kushina, Biwako held a small baby with yellow hair and bright blue eyes. Minato looked at his child, and reached down to hold him, however his hand was quickly slapped back.

"Mother's first!" Biwako scolded as she handed the the small child to Kushina, who looked down at him lovingingly.

"His name is Naruto, like we discussed, right Minato?" Kushina asked, her eyes were filled with tears of joy as she stared down at her son. "Minato, his name is Na-" Kushina had tried to ask again, but she was cut off.

"Kushina, I need you to be strong right now okay? I know you just went through a lot of pain but you're going to have to wait there for a moment before I can take care of you." Kushina looked up as Minato spoke to her, confusion evident in her eyes, however confusion was soon replaced with fear as she realised the seriousness of the surrounded them from every corner of the cave, and Kushina closed her eyes as quickly as she could, not wanting to get caught in their dangerous genjutsu.

"Ah Minato, so this is where you were hiding the Kyuubi is it? Well regardless, we have found it and we will be taking it now." The Uchiha parted and their Clan Head, Fugaku Uchiha, stepped out from among the crowd, a sinister smile plastered on his face.

"Biwako I need you to-" Minato turned to look to at her, only to see that she was staring at nothing, clearly caught in one of the Uchiha's renowned genjutsu.

"No one can help you now Minato, I'll tell you what, let's see how many of the Uchiha you can take down before we kill you, your wife, and your newborn son." Fugaku began to laugh as he said this, as if he thought it was all a game, and that no matter how many of his Clansmen's lives were lost, it was all well worth it.

"Fugaku, why would you do this, why would you attack your village?" Minato looked at Fugaku pleadingly, begging him not to carry out with his plan of taking the Kyuubi.

"This stopped being my village the day you were elected Hokage over me Minato!" Fuagku spat, and suddenly he was gone, only to reappear next to Kushina, with Minato in front of him.

"So this is about power Fugau? I should've known, it's always been that way with you, you never cared about the village or it's people. Just the title you can gain within it." Minato stood in front of Fugaku, hand in his kunai pouch, ready for him to make the slightest move.

"Power is everything Minato, of course you wouldn't understand that, seeing as you have the most powerful position. But maybe me and my Clansmen can give you a small taste of the power of the Uchiha."

Suddenly Fugaku jumped back, his fingers flying through handseals as he prepared his jutsu, his Clansmen doing the same. **Boar, Horse, and Tiger**_; __**Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu. **_Fire engulfed the cavern as the Uchiha let out a combined ball of flame that launched straight towards their Yondaime Hokage, Minato however began to grab hold of Kushina, who opened her eyes to looks up at him. He looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile, then they were gone, and across the village, screaming could be heard coming from the Namikaze Compound.

Fugaku smiled to himself, the fireball techinque had worked splendidly, he knew it would've never worked on The Yellow Flash, but it had never been intended to hit him. The purpose of it had been to get Kushina to open her eyes so Fugaku could catch her in a genjutsu, and he had done just that. It may have only been for a split second, but that had been all the time he had needed to get her, and make her unleash the Kyuubi onto Konoha. Fugaku turned around, to look at his Clansmen and he snorted in disgust.

"Well?" Fugaku prompted "What you fools waiting for? We may have unleashed the Kyuubi but we still have one more objective tonight." The Clansmen looked at Fugaku and _**shunshinned **_away, off to complete their last objective before abandoning the village, Fuagku smiled, everything was going to plan.

An explosion ripped through the mountains behind him as Minato used _**Hiraishin **_to transport the _**Tailed Beast Bomb **_away from Konoha, before flashing away again. He knew how this worked, now that the Kyuubi was free he had to reseal it, and as much as he hated to admit it, there was only one candidate open to take the beast. _I'm sorry Naruto, but you'll have to bear a burden that I wouldn't dare put on anyone. I hope that later in your life, you can forgive what I've done. _

"Itachi!" A middle-aged woman with striking black hair, and equally dark eyes yelled. A flash appeared next to her as Itachi stopped his _**Shunshin. **_

"Yes Mother?" Itachi asked, his tone as passive as it had been since the day he joined ANBU.

"I need you to take Sasuke somewhere you both can't be found, I won't Fugaku erase the existence of our Clan from Konoha entirely."

"You wish us to stay behind Mother?" While Itachi didn't show it, he was actually surprised with his mother's audacity to undermine his father like this.

"Yes, you two will hide and stay in the Konoha while the rest of us leave, I'll contact you later to help in Konoha's efforts to subdue the Uchiha." Mikoto remained staring straight ahead, her son by her side. She hoped he couldn't see the tears selling up in her eyes. Itachi paused momentarily, stunned by his Mother's dedication to the village. _Interesting... _Itachi would have to find a way to investigate this later.

"Very well Mother, I will do as you command." Itachi turned around, and slowly began to walk away, "... Oh, and Mom?"

"Yes Itachi?"

"Stay safe" with that Itachi shunshinned to where he knew young Sasuke would be cradled, hoping his mom didn't notice the single tear that fell from his eyes.

"Fugaku! What is the meaning of this?" Homura shouted, outraged as the Uchiha began to swarm the Council chambers, surrounding all of them.

"I figured you would be here, you Council always seem to gather and hide during events like this." Slowly Fugaku drew a small blade, no longer than twelve inches, from it's sheathe on his back. As he drew his tanto, he heard a large intake of breath from all the member's of the council.

"W-What do you plan to do with that Fugaku? Attacking the Council is treason!" This time it was Koahru who spoke, and many others of the Council behind her nodded in agreement.

"Oh, is that so?" Fugaku asked, and the faster than their eyes could follow, Fugaku appeared in front of Koharu, tanto pressed to her throat, before quickly sliding it across and ending her life. "And I suppose killing the Hokage is treason to, isn't it?" Gasps filled the room as they witnessed what Fugaku did, and they only increased when they realized what he said.

"Impossible... you could never kill the Hokage, i-it isn't true..." Homura looked at Fugaku in a mixture of fear and disbelief.

"You forget Homura, you could've chosen a better Hokage than him, someone much stronger and more suited to the task." Fugaku grinned as he dropped the tanto, and began going through handseals. Taking that as their cue, the rest of the Uchiha began to go through handseals of their own. "You could've chosen me as Hokage!" **Boar, Horse, and Tiger**_; "__**Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" **_the entirety of the Uchiha began to spew balls of flame, and the council began to burn, in his old age, Homura had no time to react.

"Tch, serves the geezers right for not making the right choice." Fugaku looked down at the burning bodies of the Council members in disgust. He looked down at Homura, spat on him, signalled for his Uchiha to follow and shunshinned away, intent on leaving the Village Hidden in the Leaves, at least for now...

Minato set Naruto down on the alter and looked up to Kushina, who had bound the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox in her chains. She nodded, and began to go through the seals to summon a god. **Snake, Boar, Ram, Rabbit, Dog, Rat, Bird, Horse, Snake; **_**Dead Demon Consuming Seal! **_Minato concentrated, he knew that if he messed up this part of the seal, he might end up summoning the Shinagami; something he defininetly didn't want to do. So right before clapping his hands, he focused all his elemental chakra into his hands and pressed them together.

A loud gong sounded as a Divine Being floated from the sky. This being had long white hair, and a flowing white robe that combined with his yellow irises, made him look like extremely similar to the Shinigami. However, this God had pale skin, and instead of horns he had long bat-like wings running down his back.

"Ah Minato, I was wondering when you would call in a favor, what can I do for you?" The Kazegami asked him, curious as to why a mortal would now need to call in a favor from a God.

"Well, as you can see, I'm in kind of in a bind here, heh" Minato shrugged towards the Kyuubi and then towards his son.

"Ah, I see, you want to seal the beast inside him, however I'm afraid that without the proper materials, there is only one way to go about it."

"Please, I'll do anything to protect village, if you can seal the Nine-Tails in anyway, I beg you to do it."

"Even if it meant forsaking your son to a life that may be even harder than that of a Jinchuuriki?" At that Minato paused, he looked towards the Kazegami in confusion, afterall nothing could get much worse than a Jinchuuriki's life. For a split second, he considered turning the Kazegami down, but now he didn't have enough chakra to summon another of the Gods; and he wasn't even sure others would listen to him. Afterall, the only reason the Kazegami answered the call was to return a favor from some years ago.

"If that's how it has to be, then so be it."

"Very well Minato, this will be painful for just about every party involved, so be patient and try to bear this with me."

"I'm ready." Minato steeled himself, preparing for the pain that he expected to explode through his body. It was so much worse. Minato felt as though every pain receptor in his body had burst and he felt an incredibly sharp chakra flow through his coils, cutting them to shreds as it went through him, and into his son. He cried out in pain and slumped to the floor as it continued to flow through him, and as he looked up he saw that not only was the Kyuubi shriking, but the Kazegami as well. As the pain ended, Minato turned to look at the Kazegami.

"W-What did you do to Naruto?" Minato wheezed, he knew that his chakra coils we're destroyed and that he didn't have much longer to live.

"I gave him the Kyuubi, and I gave him my chakra to keep it at bay." The Kazegami said, as he slowly started to float away, his job done. "He is one of the first ever mortals to have Divine Chakra flowing through his veins, and he _is _the first to have solely that."

"Where did his chakra go then?" Minato was curious as to how Naruto's chakra could dissappear, but the Kazegami looked at him as if the answer was simple.

"Much like how your coils were shredded by my Divine Wind Chakra, his we're too. However, as a child his coils are constantly adapting, and they rebuilt themselves to acquire the new chakra in his system."

"But how does that hold off the Kyuubi?"

"Divine Chakra is pure, and so it contains Demon Chakra, like the Kyuubi's rather easily. As long as his chakra coils don't get damaged, he should be able to contain the beast for sixteen or so years."

"Sixteen years huh? Thank you Kazegami, consider your debt repaid." Minato stood slowly and walked over to Kushina who began to as well, her coils shredded from the Kyuubi's extraction, they both knew they didn't have long to live.

"I owe you a much greater debt than this Minato, and I think that later you may come to regret this choice for your son. But for now I think you need to say goodbye." And with that the Kazegami dissappeared, a light breeze the only clue as to his exit of the scene.

Minato looked over to Kushina and could see the tears begin to roll down her face, as he felt his begin as well. Kushina looked back at him, and Minato knew that he had to cheer her up he had to...

"Don't look so sad… Minato. I'm… I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's… our son's… birthday. Like… If I try to imagine surviving and the three of us… living together… I can't think of anything… beyond 'I'd be so happy.' If I had any regrets… It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up." Kushina smiled at him, and Minato silently cursed himself. She always cheered him up just when he thought that he should do it for her.

"Kushina, I think it's best we said our goodbyes." Minato and Kushina walked over to their son, and collapsed right next to his pedastle. Naruto began to cry.

"Naruto! don't cry son, it may seem like life isn't good now, but trust me it gets better. Find someone who loves you... someone who you care for... no, that's not right. Find lots of them, find as many as you can and never let them go." Minato looked down at his son, and smiled; tears still streaming down his face. "You'll make a great ninja some day, I know it." Minato looked over to Kushina, and she took that as her cue to begin.

"Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true. There's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you… I want to stay with you… I love you." Kushina looked down at her son as her tears began to fall on him, and when she felt a warm hand wrap around her's she knew it was Minato. She looked back at him, kissed him one last time, one more time before they reached the afterlife; and fell into an eternal sleep in his embrace; and he in her's.

**A/N: **_**I've been on Fanfiction for a while now, and this is my first attempt at writing Fanfiction. So please read, review, and feel free to pm with questions. Also I am looking for a Beta Reader, so pm me if you think you're up for the job. It entails good grammar, and helping me further the plot I have set for this.**_

_**P.S: Sorry for the short chapters, they should get bigger after this. This is mainly the Prologue to the story.**_


	2. Chapter 2: First Steps

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Naruto, that right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. **_

_**Chapter 2:**_

**The Start of it All**

In Konohagukure no Sato, a young orphan sat alone at the park. It was around time for dinner in most households, and a six-year old Naruto watched as all the kids slowly trickled out of the park, intent on heading home for food. They laughed happily as they retold the adventure they had at the park that day, and their parents would just smile and ruffle the hair on their heads. Naruto sniffled a little as he watched the affection each child was being given. As he sat on the swings, Naruto tried to remember the last time he had seen his pseudo-grandfather, but he couldn't quite recall. He knew it had been at least a year ago, and that he came around at least every year to give him a gift. Now that Naruto thought about it, it seemed like it had been almost exacltly a year since he had seen the old man.

"Ah, there you are Naruto." Startled by the sudden voice, Naruto stumbled off the swing he was on and promptly fell face first on the floor. Spluttering, he picked himself up and glared pointedly at his Grandfather.

"Hey gramps! Don't sneak up on me like that, I might hurt you on accident." The Hokage chuckled to himself as he looked down at the mop of blonde hair before him.

"Is that so? A young child like you, might hurt an old _Hokage _like me?" Hiruzen asked, eyebrow arched in a questionining gaze. Naruto clenched his small, soft hands and stared at the old man.

"You never know Grampa, you always say to expect the unexpected." This time Hiruzen began to laugh, and the young child fumed as the Old Kage laughed at him. "Hey! I'm only repeating what you said Gramps." Hiruzen's laughter died down, and when he looked at Naruto, couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the child.

"Yes Naruto, and you'd do well to remember that, Shinobi who forget that in the field often end up paying the price for it."

"Shinobi? You mean the guys who walk around and spew fire and stuff?" Naruto asked curiously, he had only heard tidbits about them from the other children in the park.

"The very same Naruto, now come on, we don't want to be late for your birthday dinner. Afterall there's a festival going on tonight and if we wait too long, our seats may be taken." Hiruzen extended his hand towards the young boy, who hesitated before quickly grabbing the old man's hand and strolling out of the park with him, as he told him about his adventures he had that day, and allowed Hiruzen to reach down and ruffle his hair. Hiruzen could've sworn that he had never seen a smile so happy on a child's face in his life.

As Naruto and Hiruzen walked through the streets, many gazed questioningly at them. They would wonder why the Hokage would spend time with a small child, or who the child was. A young-raven haired boy and his older-brother seemed particularly interested in the duo; but only for a moment, before the older of the two ushered his young brother along back home.

Naruto's mouth was watering as he walked down the streets with his grandfather. The aroma of just about every kind of food Naruto could ever imagine was filling his nostrils, and he was practically bouncing in anticipation to try them all. Hiruzen looked down at the boy and smiled,

"Naruto, where would you like to go first? Would you like to eat, or would you like to pick up your present?" Naruto turned towards the Hokage, then towards a small ramen stand, and then towards the Hokage, then the ramen stand, and then towards the Hokage, and back to the ramen stand one last time before making up his mind.

The Hokage felt a sharp tug on his arm and followed obediently after the impatient boy, chuckling slightly as he did so; he should've known food would come first to the blonde.

As they entered the ramen stand Naruto cheered when he smelt the ramen being cooked. He could practically feel the soft, chewy noodles and his eyes glazed over slightly in anticipation. He looked behind the counter and saw the waitress he had been looking for.

"Sis, one bowl of Miso Ramen, with extra Naruto please!" Naruto called to her, and she turned to smile warmly at him. A few customers recognized the kid, and smiled at him as well, to them he was always a bright and cheery child, despite his lack of family. Several in the restraunt had even attempted to adopt him.

"One moment Naruto!" she called to him, and proceeded to run behind the counter to grab a pen before coming to the seats Naruto and Hiruzen had gotten themselves. "Oh, Lord Hokage, a pleasure to meet you again." She flashed him the best smile she had, and the Hokage returned it with one of his own.

"No need to be so formal Ayame, I've told you before, as a friend of Naruto, Hiruzen works just fine." The Hokage set his hat down on the counter and sighed; he hated wearing that hat, it was large and unnecessarily heavy.

"Ah of course Hokage- I mean Hiruzen, so what would you like today?" Ayame blushed as she messed up his title, after having being told how to address him, but hid it as best she could behind her order pad.

"I'll have whatever the troublemaker next to me is having." Ayame ignored Naruto's shotu of protest at being a troublemaker, and glanced back to the Hokage.

"And how many bowls is the Number One Troublemaker of Konoha allowed to have?" Hiruzen chuckled, the last few times they came here Hiruzen had had to limit Naruto's ramen amount, lest he empty even the Hokage's vast pockets.

"Well you see Ayame, today is a special day. Since it's Naruto's birthday he gets all the ramen he wants today." Suddenly Ayame's face paled, now that she thought about it, it was the brats birthday; and she had forgotten to get him a gift!

"A-Ah, I see Lord Hokage, very well then. I'll bring seven bowls for Naruto to start on and then server you yours." With that Ayame rushed to the back, and Naruto looked after her curiously.

"Hey Gramps, why did Ayame walk away so quickly?" Naruto had never seen her walk away so fast, and his young mind couldn't figure out why she would for the life of himself.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry too much on that Naruto, it just seems she forgot something important."

"Oh, okay then." They sat in silence until Teuchi came out with their ramen instead of Ayame, further cofunsing the young boy.

Ayame had rushed home as fast as she could and began to dig through everything they had in the house to find something Naruto might like. She had been so stupid! She should've remembered it was his birthday, and now she had forgotten a gift. Ayame hurried around the room, throwing everything around; trying to find a suitable gift for the young boy, hoping that just maybe she could find something.

Then Ayame saw it, it just called out to her. Sitting in the corner of the room, gathering dust was the perfect gift for her young blonde friend...

"Thanks Teuchi!" Naruto called out as they left Ichiraku's Ramen. After fourty-three bowls of ramen, a new plaque for most bowls eaten posted on the wall, Naruto's stomach was fully satisfied. However, his brain was most defininently not. He couldn't figure out where Ayame went, and it was bothering him to no end. He hoped he didn't cause her trouble that made her leave. But, Naruto tried to put it in the back of his mind, and grabbed his grandfathers hand. They had one more stop.

"Ready Naruto?" Hiruzen asked, holding the childs delicate hand and looking down into his crystal clear, blue eyes. A nod from Naruto and they began to head away from the Ramen stand only to be stopped right before turning a bend.

"Naruto!" The voice called, and when Naruto turned around, a smile stretched across his face. Ayame was running towards him, a package in hand that was wrapped up in ramen wrapping paper. As Ayame neared the duo, she began to slow down and dropped the package gently before taking very deep breathes. She had to run full speed to catch up to them. Slowly however, she caught her breathe and picked up the package, shoving it into Naruto's free hand.

"Take this Naruto." She said firmly, before turning around to head back and help her father run the ramen shop. "Oh, and happy birthday." And then she sprinted off, dust leaving a small trail behind her as the crowd of people in the streets parted to let her through.

"Uhhh, do you know what that was about Gramps?" Naruto looked up to the Hokage who simply shrugged.

"It appears she gave you a gift my boy, why don't you go ahead and open it now?" Hiruzen looked at Naruto who stared intently at the semi-circle shaped gift. And then as fast as he could, Naruto wriggled his hand free from Hiruzen's and began to tear into the wrapping paper, before coming face to face with an object he had never seen before. In his hands, Naruto held a decently large semi-cirular object. The front end of it was made of thin wood, painted jet black, with a small grip in the middle. And then, at the each end of the crescent shape, a string connected them.

"Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder where she got one of those..." Hiruzen looked at the object and smiled, he knew that once the boy knew how to use it he would treasure it forever. Naruto looked completely lost, he had no idea what the object in his hands was.

"Well Gramps, don't just 'hmm" me, tell me what it is!" Naruto looked at the Hokage impatiently, causing the older man to laugh before answering the boy.

"Well Naruto, that's a bow. To use it you put arrows on the string, pull back on it and fire." Naruto was still lost. _What the heck are arrows _, he wondered. Seeing that they boy still didn't understand him Hiruzen decided it would be best to demonstrate. "Come on Naruto, we'll pick up some arrows, and then we'll show you how to use that. Then you can come back later and impress Ayame."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, he would do anything to impress his sister figure. And he would be damned if he didn't learn how to use this properly.

"Not quite Naruto, that one was shy to the right of the bullseye." Hiruzen commented, dutifully watching as Naruto fumed over yet another missed. However, while Naruto thought he was doing bad, Hiruzen was quite impressed that a boy his age could hit so close to his target from nearly 20 yards away after having the bow for only half an hour. "Don't worry Naruto!" Hiruzen called out to him once again, "Remeber the key to archery is your form."

"Yes Gramps, I heard you the last seven-hundred times." Reaching into the quiver on his back, Naruto selected an arrow, notched it, took aim, and closed his eyes. He was sure that he could almost feel the wind around him, it's speed and direction, '_If only I could guide it...' _Naruto thought. Suddenly, a strange power seemed to build within him, and Naruto no longer felt the wind around him, but _in _him. Naruto adjusted his aim, a little to the left, up a bit more... A leaf fell, Naruto let the arrow fly, and the Hokage watched, his eyes focused on Naruto, trying to decipher the power within the boy. However, the arrow flew straight past the target, and off into the woods, Hiruzen sighed, maybe he had been mistaken.

"A good try Naruto, but remember, it's all about for-" Hiruzen began to speak to his surrogate grandchild, before said child enteruptted with a loud yell, one that had the Sarutobi recoil in surprise; why was the child so excited?

"I did it Gramps!" Naruto yelled, running off into the forest, Hiruzen not far behind. As Hiruzen tailed Naruto he couldn't help but wonder what the child had been aiming at, it couldn't have been the target, but he had a feeling his question would soon be answered. How right he was.

Standing right infront of a tree was Naruto, grinning madly as he looked at the arrow stuck in it, pinning a leaf to its own trunk. Hiruzen could hardly believe what he was seeing, there was no way Naruto had intentionally made this shot...

"What do ya think Gramps? Pretty good shot huh?" Naruto turned, his grin widening even more, and the old Hokage couldn't help but smile.

"Quite a good shot indeed young one, however I think that is enough for the day, we still have many things to do." With that Sarutobi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder as they walked out of the forest, only one of them noticing the holes through the trunks of several trees as they walked by...

**AN: Hey guys, Soluke here. I was going to make this chapter a bit longer, but I felt like this was a decent ending, the next one will be over 5k words and will hopefully come out much quicker.**


	3. Chapter 3: A New Discovery & A Sensei!

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Naruto, that right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. **_

_**Chapter 3:**_

**A New Sensei, And a New Lifestyle**

"Jiji, are you sure that _this _man is fit to be a Sensei?" Naruto asked curiously as he looked over the short man in front of him. The man had long, green hair, with a similar colored beard that barely hung below the man's chin. He was dressed in green as well, a dark green long sleeved shirt, with the Jonin vest over it, and a pair of long, black standard shinobi pants, with a single kunai holster attached to them.

"Yes Naruto, this man is qualified to be the sensei of someone who isn't even a _Genin _yet." Sarutobi said to the boy, emphasizing exactly how little authority Naruto had as to who trained him.

"Buuut Jiijiii- he looks like a hobo," Naruto whined, the man did indeed look like a hobo to the 6 and half year old boy, and he didn't want an underqualified hobo teaching him anything.

"Listen here, Naruto, " the old Hokage said, getting tired of the young boys attitude to a respected ninja. "Kishiru is a valued Jonin and former ANBU, if he can't teach you anything, then I doubt even I could." At that comment, the man now known as Kishiru grunted, once again drawing Naruto's gaze, when the boy noticed something peculiar.

"Hey Hobo-Sensei, what is that tattoo on your neck?" Naruto said, as he walked over to the grizzled man, reaching a hand out to touch the tattoo, a hand that was immediantely slapped away.

"Oh, you mean this?" The Kishiru asked as he reached to the strange circular tattoo with two fingers, and pressed them upon it, before channeling chakra into it. A puff of smoke enveloped the man, before slowly disipitating and revealing Kishiru, holding a weapon Naruto was very familiar with.

"Is that a bow?" Naruto asked, wondering if the man was an archer, much like himself. The boy could see the effort that was placed into making this, it was an absolutely exquisite piece of work. The design was simple, a standard recurve bow that was akk black. However, the grip was a slightly lighter shade, and had the kanji for wind imprinted onto it.

"Nah, this isn't a bow, it's a really, really, _really _big pancake" the ex-ANBU depanned. Seriously, did the kid have to ask such an obvious question? Kishiru looked at the blonde and noticed that Naruto seemed to be focused intently on the weapon in his hand and had missed his joke. He'd have to teach the little brat that not paying attention to your elders brought on more trouble than it was worth.

"Hey kid," The Jonin said, waving a hand in front of Naruto's face to catch his attention. "Kiiiiiiiiddddddddddd, are you even listening?"

Naruto, knocked out of his stupor, looked towards the older man, a clueless expression on his face.

"What did you say Hobo-Sensei?" The young boy asked, having paid no attention to what was going on.

"I said, do you want to try shooting a bow?" Kishiru smirked as he looked down at the boy, no way could this boy fire a bow like this. Not only was the draw strength incredible, but then there was that other requirement...

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Please let me shoot your bow Hobo-Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, running to the man's side and making a grab for the bow, which much to the child's dissapoinment, was pulled from his grasp.

"Kid, never in a million years could you shoot _my _bow, but I have another one for you. Hows that?" Kishiru chuckled, the kid was definently going to be dissapointed when he failed to even draw the bow back. "If you want to fire one, we are going to have to go to the training grounds, and for that, I need the Hokage's permission to allow you entrance; so wait outside, okay kid?"

Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically, nearly teleporting out the door in his haste to fire the bow. Turning back to the Hokage, Kishiru sighed, he would have his hands full with this brat.

"So what do you think Kishiru, will you take on an apprentice, one more time?" Sarutobi asked as he gazed at the younger man. He knew the last thing Kishiru wanted to do was have another student, after what happened to his first one. However, he believed that not only would Naruto learn a great many things from Kishiru, but the opposite may be true as well. Kishiru could fill a gap in his heart that had long been empty, and the old Hokage knew that Naruto may be the only one capable to fix it.

"I dunno old man, the kid seems like a handful, and after what happened to Kiririn, I dunno if I can stomach taking on another protege." The Jonin knew that the Hokage wanted him to train the boy, but he really didn't want to take on another apprentice ever since he lost Kiririn.

The old Hokage sighed, he knew that getting the man before him to apprentice Naruto wouldn't be easy. Slowly, an idea began to form in Sarutobi's mind, and he once again refocused his attention on Kishiru.

"Why not test the boy Kishiru, just see what he is capable of, if he doesn't pass your test then you don't have to apprentice him." Hiruzen said straight faced, however on the inside, he was grinning widly.

"That is a good idea Hokage-Sama, but I have no idea what kind of test I could give the boy..." The hardened Jonin trailed off, as his gaze shifted from the old Hokage, to his bow, then back to the old man once again. "Hokage-Sama, surely you don't mean that..."

"That's exactly what I mean Kishiru, I want you to let him try shooting your bow."

"But Hokage-Sama the bow is a special heirloom-" Kishiru was about to talk about the history of his bow, however he was cut off by the Hokage.

"I know Kishiru."

"And the bow is only able to be fired by someone with-"

"Yes Kishiru, I know." Sarutobi said, once again cutting the much younger man off. "However," The Hokage started, getting up from his chair and making his way to the door, "I think this child may just surprise you."

* * *

(Training Ground 7)

Training Ground 7 was a very popular training grounds among Genin squads, and justifiably so. The terrain was split into several sections, each one depicting different locations fighting could take place. Currently, three figures sat at the most commonly used of the sections; the clearing. A quite bland spot if one were to observe, it was really just a circle of grass, with a river running through it. However, it did have three logs that protruded from the floor, most likely for target practice, which was actually what the three figures were attempting now.

"Hey Hobo-Sensei, can I fire this yet?" Naruto whined, seriously, they had been here for 20 minutes, and still wouldn't let him shoot the bow?

"Hold on a minute longer Naruto, I've still gotta dim down the draw strength." Kishiru sighed, he never should have agreed to this. Not only was he letting someone shoot his bow, a kid no less, but he also had to tune it so the person in question could acctually fire it.

"Please a be a bit more patient, Naurto. I know you are eager to try shooting a bow other than that toy one you have at home, but now is not the time to get all jittery." The aged Hokage looked down at the small boy, patting his head as he watched Kishiru work with several seals on his bow to dim down the size and draw strength.

"Alright," Kishiru said, getting up from his sitting position, "If you can't draw this back, you shouldn't be trying to shoot it in the first place", not that the kid would be able to shoot it anyways, the only other person he knew that could fire the bow in the village was Asuma.

"Whoooo! Time to show you not to underestimate me Hobo-Sensei!" Naruto yelled, yanking the bow from the older mans hands.

"Naruto, hey wait-!" Kishiru couldn't stop the boy however, who already had the now reformed bow in position, attempting to pull back the string, but to no avail.

"Whats wrong with this bow Jiji? I can't pull it back." Kishiru smirked, he knew the kid wouldn't be able to do it, why else would he agree to take him on as an apprentice if he could? _'No one could ever replace you, Kiririn' _The man thought to himself.

"Remeber what I said Naruto, look inside yourself, and take deep breaths, you'll be able to pull it, I promise." The Old Hokage glanced over at Kishiru, who seemed to be doing a miniature victory dance, and smiled. Boy was he in for a surprise.

Naruto put the bow to his side, and closed his eyes. He began searching inside himself, trying to find the thing his Jiji told him about, he went deeper and deeper, until suddenly the blonde knucklehead was blasted off his feet, causing both the Hokage and Kishiru to gape, wondering what had just happened.

"What the fuck was that?" The Jonin asked, looking at the Hokage incredulously.

"That, Kishiru, was your new apprentice." As soon as the Hokage said that, it all made sense, why he had asked for this particular challenge, why he wanted him to train Naruto, and why the kid had blasted off the ground. Wind Chakra.

Naruto rubbed his head as he landed a good ten feet away from the others. _'What the hell was that?' _he asked himself, whatever it was ti felt _good _and he wanted to feel it again. He was able to find it faster this time, traversing within himself to the exact spot he had gone last time, another sharp blast of wind tried to push him away, but this time, he was ready. In his mind, Naruto was looking at a massive pool of white chakra that was dancing around, swift as the wind itself. Naruto opened his eyes in awe, and slowly reached out a hand to touch the chakra.

_ "You've come at last..." _a voice seemed to say inside his head, and for a second Naruto withdrew his hand, but then he grew a more determined expression, and shoved it right back in. The young boy reached his hand in as far as he could go, this time, instead of shoving him out, the wind seemed to be inviting him in. Making his hand into a fist, Naruto grabbed some chakra and pulled, only to find that this chakra wasn't white like the rest, but a fern green, and it felt different from the rest, calmer. _'This is like nothing I have ever felt before' _Naruto thought to himself as he opened his eyes to once more face reality. getting up off the floor, he quickly drew back the bow, and fired a shot from it.

"I did it!" Naruto all but shouted, as soon as he did however, he felt all the strength from that chakra leave him, and promptly fell unconcious on the floor.

* * *

(Konoha Hospital)

Naruto groaned as he slowly pushed himself up from the bed he was in, opening his eyes. _'Wait, bed? There was no bed in the training grounds? Where am I...' _Naruto's thoughts trailed off, until he noticed the stark white walls and several pieces of equipment that surrouneded him. Outside he could hear voices.

"But Hokage-sama, this requires _some _inquiry, he shot the bow."

"Yes Kishiru, he shot it, and because of that, you get to train him, lets leave the matter at that for now, why don't we?"

"Hokage-sama, he shot the bow with an arrow _he _created from wind chakra, through over _fifty _trees. And you don't want anyone to look into this?"

"Exactly" He heard to voice of the old man say, before the door slid open, revealing Kishiru and the Hokage, as he predicted.

"Well, glad to see you are finally awake Naruto, you good job shooting the bow. You even passed Kishiru's test." Naruto looked from the aged man, to the younger one, then back.

"What kind of test did I have? I was just shooting a bow, right?" The young Naruto asked, confused by the events taking place.

"No kid," This time it was Kishiru who spoke, "You didn't _just _shoot a bow. You've been sneaking into the academy to learn about ninja arts haven't you?" Kishiru asked, receiving a sheepish nod. "So you know about chakra?" another nod, "Then do you know about elemental chakra?" This time he shook the boy shook his head, sighing, the man waved towards the Hokage, not wanting the explain.

"Well you see Naruto," The old Hokage began, "Chakra is a part of all of us, it is our life force, the thing that allows us to use Jutsu and defy laws of Nature. However, we can only defy Nature's laws because chakra itself is a part of nature, think about this. What are the main components of Nature?" Sarutobi asked the young boy.

"Well uhm, water, to drink and stuff, fire to cook things, lightning from storms, and uhh, the earth itself, right?" The young boy asked, doubting himself.

"Very good Naruto!" The Hokage exclaimed, praising the boy on already figuring out four of the five elements. "Fire, water, earth, and lightning are four of the five chakra natures, but can you figure out what the last one is?" There Naruto looked stumped, he knew that it would have to make sense with nature, and be somehow important to the way life moved on, but what was it...? A gentle breeze came through the window, and suddenly, Naruto shot his eyes open in realization.

"Wind!" The boy said, excited by his discovery.

"Yeah, wind. the chakra nature that accels at cutting, piercing, and is said to be the most uncontrollable element of them all." Kishiru once again took the reins.

"But, what is so important about wind chakra?" Naruto asked, wondering why the hobo-man only bothered to explain that one.

"Because, this bow," Kishiru held up the bow in question, "Can only be fired with wind chakra. Which you managed to used." The boy looked at the bow in shock, was he really capable of using such a thing?

"So, I have an affinity for wind?" Naruto asked, curious as to why being able to use wind chakra was that big of a deal.

"Well, thats the thing kid, your chakra doesn't have an affinity for wind chakra, it _is _wind chakra. As in, all of it." Naruto opened his mout in an "O" shape, realizing that this had to be some kind of phenomenon.

"Yes, exactly what Kishiru here said Naruto, you hold wind chakra, in its purest form, this has never happened in a millenium, since the beginning of ninja time there is no record of a ninja who held only one specific kind of chakra."

"So, does that mean I'm in trouble?" The boy asked, wondering if he had done something wrong to gain such an unusual trait. This only served to draw a laugh from the old Hokage,

"Far from in trouble my boy, this is fantastic! You may have a new kekkai genkai, something this village has not seen in generations!" Now Naruto was even more confused, kekkei what now?

"Don't worry kid, you aren't in trouble for this, however I am curious..." Kishiru reached into his back pocket, and pulled a small piece of paper out. He then walked over, and handed it to the boy. "Here, remember how to draw out that chakra? Try doing that into this paper."

Naruto did as told, looking inside himself, he quickly went to the location of his chakra, and reached in as far as he could go, dissapointed this time he could only find a white strand. However, as soon as he began to channel the chakra to his hand, the paper vanished, leaving no trace behind. "Did I do something wrong?" The boy asked.

Kishiru's mouth was agape, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, not only did the boy only contain wind chakra, but he contained some _very _powerful wind chakra, although, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised, he did puncture over fifty trees with a single arrow.

"Oho, looks like you have quite a strong wind chakra my boy, this is even more fantastic. With this at your disposal, you could surpass me one day." Nauro looked at the old man incredulously. Did he just say that he had the potential to surpass him?

"Then I'll make sure that in a few years time, I'll come to take that from you Jij, believe it!" Naruto said enthusiastically, practically jumping up and down.

"Slow down there kid, you're gonna need someone to help you train first." Kishiru said, smiling at the exuberance of the brat before him.

"But, didn't the Jiji say that I passed your test?" Naruto asked, hoping that Sarutobi had been right, and Kishiru would train him.

"That he did Naruto, that he did, but I'll only give you this one oppurtunity to back out. I don't train weaklings, in fact I'm so strict that only one student has stuck by me to teach them. If you agree to be under my tutelage, I will push you to your limits, mentally, and physically. Still sure you want me to teach you?" Kishiru questioned.

"I'm sure Hobo-Sensei!"

* * *

**(A/N) Sorry for the delay on this one guys, I should start updating more often now. Also expect longer chapters once the next one comes. Don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Genin to Chunin to Academy

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Naruto, though if I did there would be some serious plot changes.**_

_**Chapter 4:**_

**The Training Ends and The Friend Hunt Begins!**

It had been almost six months since Kishiru had promised to train our young blond hero, and train him he had.

"*Alright Hobo-Sensei, four guards down, all thats left now is to grab the hostages and return to the village, over.*" The young voice of a seven year old Naruto Uzumaki came across the radio's that Team Kishiru had been given to take on the mission. He was clad in a pure black jacket with an orange Uzumaki symbol on the back, underneath a white t-shirt with the same symbol on the front, and black shinobi pants that had various wraps and pouches on them.

"*Copy that Blondie, I've been watching your progress from afar, and apart from the extra flair you put in your jutsu, I'd say you pass with flying colors." Kishiru responded, smirking as he felt pride fill him, seeing his student do a B-Rank mission without help.

"*I do _not _use extra flair just to show off, you know me better than that Sensei.*" Kishiru could picture Naruto's face, and the slight pout of a seven year old at being told he was anything but flawless.

"*Oh Really now, then what was that _**Piercing Wind Shot **_I saw fly from your bow, when all you needed was a regular arrow?*"

"*Well uh, you see Sensei, uh, he had a uh, and uh...*" Naruto trailed off, finding no excuse to use a B-Rank wind technique of his own making on a shinobi who hadn't even known he was coming.

"*That's what I thought, now hurry up, if you make it back in time we can get to the village before Ichiraku's closes.*" From his position in the trees, Kishiru saw his young student double time it to where the prisoners were held, and couldn't help but laugh.

"So what do you think Tori, does he earn his vest?" As Kishiru spoke, an older ANBU appeared next time, looking unpreterbed at being found by the Jonin.

"I think he has done very well, though you know that there is yet one more test he must overcome before being accepted as a Chunin." With that, the ANBU disappeared back into the shadows, leaving Kishiru to ponder on his Genin's progress, and how he would fair on the final portion of the test. *_Well, nothing to do but wait and see what happens...*_

* * *

*_Gotta make this fast, then speed home, and eat all the Ichiraku's I can!*_ Naruto thought, as he stepped into the hostage tent. As he came through the flap, Naruto looked around, and was suddenly aware that there no hostages in the tent, which immediately put him on guard.

"*Hobo-Sensei, the hostages aren't here.*" Dead silence was the only answer to his call, and Naruto knew that something was wrong. He quickly went to open the tent and rush to his sensei, when a kunai flew past his face, and he was suddenly forced to duck under a well placed haymaker that would have surely knocked him out.

"Where do you think your going gaki?" A man spoke in a gruff voice, and Naruto turned to find himself face to face with a hulk of a male, over six feet tall, and covered in muscles.

"I didn't say you could leave yet, not until I'm done playing with you." Naruto tensed, and quickly scanned his mind, searching his memory, trying to find an entry in the book that matched this mans description. Tall, well-built, dark brown hair, and with various scars covering his face... *_Thats it!*_

"Your Scar, aren't you?" Naruto said, his voice filled with conviction as he recalled all the information that the bingo book had on a shinobi of his caliber. "B-Class missing-nin from Kumo who uses lightning manipulation moves that not only hurt his opponent, but himself as well."

"I'm impressed gaki, sadly I don't know any information about a twerp of a ninja like you, but when I'm through with you, I won't need to anyways." Scar's right hand began to glow with electricity, and Naruto immediately moved to avoid the move by dodging to his right.

"_**Lightning Style: **_**Electric Hammer Arm!**" Scar shouted, swinging down at the area where the boy was. Naruto, however, had already moved and that attack was sent straight down into the ground, rupturing the floor and spewing dirt from every direction. Scar coughed as the dust and dirt cleared, only to notice one important thing... His target was missing.

"_**Wind Style: **_**Piercing Wind Shot**" A call came from above, and Scar looked up just in time to see that the young blond had fired an arrow straight at him, faster than even his eyes could follow. On reflex he moved to the left to dodge, but the arrow changed trajectory, and headed straight for him tearing through his shoulder, and eliciting a growl of pain from the large man.

"Is that all you got kid?" The big man said, as Naruto landed in front of him, a good twenty yards away. "My Kaa-san uses better wind jutsu than that in her sleep."

Despite his talk, Scar was impressed that the kid could already manipulate wind jutsu to such a high level, and still had no idea how he had changed the path of an already fired arrow mid-flight. That would take control over Wind Chakra to a whole new level, one he knew this kid wasn't at.

"Yeah well, my Jiji throws a much harder punch than that." Naruto said, as he backpedaled away from the man, and knocked another arrow, though this one was a little different from the rest.

"You think a tiny arrow can stop ME! I'll show you brat." Scar charged the small boy at fast speeds, annoyed that the blond was faster than he was. The arrow was launched, and this time, Scar waited till the last second to dodge, so that he could predict the course before moving, however, just as it flew by his head, Scar noticed that he had made one mistake...

"Kai" The arrow exploded and Scar rocketed through the tent, and into the open, rolling on the hard earthen floor, with no move to get up. Naruto waited a moment, and then began to approach the rogue Kumo-nin. As he stepped closer, Naruto was sure that he was dead, or unconcious and cautiously bent down to check his pulse when the man's hand grabbed his own, and slammed him to the floor.

"YOU LITTLE PUNK!" The man shouted, lightning chakra gathered in his entire arm, resulting in a blue current running across the top. "_**Lightning Style: **_**Bombardment of The Lightning God!**"

The justsu crashed into the small blond's body, and Scar smirked as he watched the A-Rank lightning jutsu that he had stolen from the vaults course through the kid. Several bolts fired off from the kid, striking Scar, but he felt barely anything, he had long since numbed his nerves to the pain of his own jutsu, and the sight of the small child before him writhing in pain only seemed to help ease his own. Slowly, the jutsu dissipitated, and Scar got up to leave, heading back towards the tent to unveil his prisoners.

"_**Wind Stlye: **_**Wind Release: Divine Piercing Wind Arrow!**" A voice from behind him spoke, and Scar didn't even have time to turn around as the light green arrow pierced straight through him, and moments before death, Scar realized why the jutsu was named what it was. *_So the arrow is made purely out of wind eh? Sheesh, that kid is going to be a monster one day.* _With his final thought, the burly man collapsed to the floor for the second, and last time. Behind him, a panting and severely bruised Naruto shakily stood to his feet, glad that the fight was finally over.

"*Well done Naruto, it seems that you passed afterall.*" Kishiru's voice came in over the radio, and Naruto grinned wearily.

"*Yeah Sensei, I beat hi-, wait, _passed? _What exactly did I pass*" Naruto wondered, he knew that his mission was very nearly complete, and that he took down a B-Rank missing-nin, but that was hardly anything to _pass _him for.

"*You passed your Chunin Examination of course gaki, congrats.*" Kishiru suddenly appeared next to the boy, a smile on his face and a congratulatory thumbs up.

"Hold up, hold up. All of this was a _test?_" the young Genin turned Chunin asked, clearly perturbed by the way the test had gone.

"Well yeah, it was my suggestion, since normally seven-year olds don't get field promotions, I asked the Hokage to make an exception." Kishiru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, obviously uncomfortable with his student's ire.

"I could have _died _you goddamn hobo! If my chakra wasn't purely wind, then that lightning coursing through my body would've been the end! Game over! End of story!" Naruto yelled, clearly peeved by the way his sensei handled things.

"Yeah but look, your fine. A couple bruises here and there, but those will heal with time. And it was because of your wind chakra that I took you to this mission to fight Scar. I knew you could handle him."

"But what if I couldn't." Naruto asked, recalling how close he had come to being overwhelmed by the large man's strength.

"But I knew you could." Naruto looked at Kishiru and was shocked to see the determination in his eyes, the obvious trust he had in his seven-year old apprentice. "And besides, your a Chunin now, so why should you be complaining."

Naruto's eyes went wide as he realized that it was true, he was a Chunin, he had beaten the B-Rank nin and passed his test. The implications this brought to mind were huge. More money to buy ramen, higher class missions, more money to buy ramen, more solo missions, and even _more _money to buy ramen!

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! YES!" Naruto shouted, his glee evident, and his sensei chuckled at the sight. The young blond was jumping in the air, shouting at the top of his lungs, and totally forgetting about the rest of his mission.

"Well, your only a Chunin if you can return those hostages to Wave on time..." Kishiru trailed off, and now Naruto's eyes went wide for a different reason as he bolted off to search every tent for the prisoners, and this time Kishiru couldn't help but laugh out loud.

* * *

"Well Naruto, congratulations on your new promotion to Chunin, this makes you tied as the second youngest to ever achieve this rank." The old Hokage smiled down at the young blonde as he handed him his vest.

"What, really? Isn't that kind of impressive?" The young blond stared at his leader, wide eyed. He had not known this was such an important thing.

"Yes very, you tied with Itachi Uchiha, and fell just short of Hatake Kakashi." Sarutobi said, holding back his laughter at the boy who had been unknowingly on par with two geniuses of their generation.

"That's awesome -ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, not noticing the slip of his verbal tick.

"Indeed it is young one, but remember that Chunin hold many responsibilites, and that you are now to represent Konoha to the best of your abilites." The Hokage spoke sagely, head held high, before grinning down at the blond. "Now, as you may or may not know, Chunin are required to spend a day teaching the academy once they are promoted. And since you just got your promotion while still being within the range to attend, I have decided that you will take on a different assignment."

"I will do whatever is required of me Hokage-Jiji" Naruto said, not noticing the glint in the Hokage's eye...

* * *

"Okay class, today I am going to introduce a new student, who will be staying with us for a week or two." Iruka Umino said, as he looked on at his class.

It looked like a normal day, and all the key members were in attendance. There was the broody Uchiha Sasuke, who was top of the class, and the center of all the girls desires.

Then you had Inuzuka Kiba, the small boy with a mop of brown hair and a gray jacket that held a small pup that looked barely two months old. After him was Aburame Shino, the quiet kid who sat in the far left corner, wearing sunglasses, with a high collar and his good up, Iruka doubted if he would ever see that boys face before graduation day. Follwoing them was the sleepy pineapple-headed Nara Shikamaru, whose lanky body proved that he had next to no desire to live the life oa ninja. and the always hungry Akimichi Choji, whose round body proved that he belonged to his clan.

Then followed the girls. Haruno Sakura, a girl who came from a civilain family, with long pink hair and an always pleasant look on her face. The shy Hyuga Hinata, who sat in the corner opposite Shino, with her short black hair, large jacket, and pale white eyes. Lat but not least, the ever boisterous Yamanaka Ino, who perked up upon hearing that a new person was coming to class. She had platinum blond hair and a very large attitude.

The entirety of the class looked up, barring the Nara, to see who the student was for various reasons. Sasuke, to see if it was someone who could possibly pose a challenge to his currently undisputed role as top the class, Choji, Ino, and Sakura to see if they could make a new friend, Shino to see if he was an important person to note in the future, Hinata to see if it was someone she could finally talk to, and finally Kiba who just wanted someone to boss around.

"Come on in, Naruto." Iruka said, as he watched the door open, to reveal a spiky blond head. Naruto walked into the classroom, donning his black shinobi pants and white Uzumaki shirt, but on top wore a standard Chunin vest. "Class, this is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hi Naruto." The entire class drawled, and silently waited to hear what he would have to say.

"Naruto, why don't you introduce yourself to the class." Iruka suggested, seeing how uncomfortable the blond was.

"Uhm hi," Naruto began, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I won't be with you guys long, so don't bother with me much."Naruto sighed, hoping that was enough for Iruka.

"Alright Naruto, well feel free to find an open seat." With that Naruto walked into the group of kids, and all the children began to glare at him for his standoffish introduction. Naruto just shook it off, and took the seat in the far back middle row, away from everyone else.

"Alright class, if you would open your books to page 53, we'll begin with learning..." Naruto ignored Iruka's lesson, and pulled out a small scroll he kept on him for his wind jutsu ideas, and began to quietly write in the back of class. As he was writing however, his instincts took over, and he put up his hand to catch the chalk that was launched at him with two fingers, before lightly lobbing it back to Iruka.

"Did you say something Sensei?" Naruto asked peevishly.

"I asked you if you knew what the five elemental nature's are Naruto." Iruka said, mad that, though he knew of Naruto's predicament, he was still ignoring the lesson's he gave.

"Water, Earth, Lightning, Fire, _Wind._" Naruto raffled off the five elements, leaving everyone else in minor shock, not suspecting the new kid to know the answer so fast, even if it was just test review. Iruka looked at the blond, and gestured for him to come up to him. Putting his scroll back in his ninja pouch, Naruto got up from his seat, and trudged up to the front of the room.

"Yes Sensei?" Naruto whispered, not wanting the rest of the class ot overhear their private conversation.

"You realize that if you keep being so standoffish like that, you won't make any friends right?" Iruka said, referring to the mission the Hokage had given Naruto.

"So what, I'm only in here for a week, as long as I stay in here, I don't need to make any." Naruto said, recalling his own conversation with the Hokage on the topic of making friends within his own generation.

"Actually..." Iruka trailed off, trying to word this in a way that wouldn't result in the young boy in front of him exploding, "Hokage-Sama said that if you don't make any friends within the week, that you'll be sent back to the Academy and stripped of your rank."

Naruto gaped as Iruka rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Your kidding right?" Naruto asked , hoping that what Iruka said wasn't possibly true.

"Afraid not Naruto, if I were you I would start trying to find a couple friends you could make." Iruka held back a laugh at the look on the young blond's face, the pout was all to much like a seven year old, and Iruka couldn't help but think that it didn't belong on the face of a Chunin. Iruka stood up, and said to the class, "Alright class, lets head outside for some practical skills practice."

The entire class got up, and began to file out, leaving only Iruka and Naruto, one grinning, while the other was fuming.

* * *

The class was gathered in a clearing on the outside of the academy. The clearing was primarily dried up dirt, but there were patches of grass and various logs sticking out from the ground to practice taijutsu and weapon accuracy on.

"First spar is between Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka!" Iruka called out, and the two kids stepped forward, setting in their taijustu stances. "Ready?"

A nod from the two children, and Iruka threw his hand forward, beginning the match. At first, Naruto watched with mild interest as the two girls flew each other, fists cocked back, but as he slowly watched the fight progress, he couldn't help but look towards the rest of his new classmates, gauging which ones had talent. *_That Uchiha doesn't look bad, though I bet he uses the same style his entire family does, same goes for dog-breath and the Hyuga. Is anyone in this generation talented?* _Naruto wondered.

"Winner, Ino Yamanaka!" Iruka declared as the rest of the class shouted and clapped.

"Hnn, I've seen better from four year olds." Sasuke said, referring to the spars that were held in his family training grounds.

"Yeah right Uchiha, I bet your entire family fights just like you, a _loser" _Kiba said, laughing.

"Just beacuse you won last time doesn't mean you will win again, dog-breath."

"Does too"

"Does not"

"Does too"

"Does no-" Sasuke began, before being cut off from a slightly annoyed Iruka.

"The Second Spar will be be Naruto vs Kiba and Sasuke!" Iruka announced, glancing at the young blond who had situated himself in the back of the crowd. a silence fell over the class as they all realized what had just happened. The two rivals of the class, arguably the two best taijutsu practictioners of their generation, were pitted against one lone new kid. They all felt sorry for Naruto.

"Sensei, shouldn't you make it more fair, I mean, I wouldn't want to hurt the guy. Besides I don't need Duck-butt in my way, I can take him on my own." Kiba said, offended that Iruka thought it would take more than just him to beat the new kid.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Dog-breath is right. I don't need him getting in my way, I am more than enough to challenge the newbie." Sasuke agreed, wondering how Iruka could think that he would need more than just himself to fight the enigmatic blond.

"Listen, Naruto here is a speci-" Iruka began, but was quickly cut off by Naruto.

"Look Sensei, I'm inclined to agree with them, brown-hair and black-hair have no chance of defeating me alone or together, so why don't we just call the fight already?" Naruto said, and once again silence ensued from Naruto's words, though shortly after several angry voices could be heard.

"What did you say Blondie?" Kiba asked, running up to the blond and grabbing him by the shirt. "I"m more than enough for someone like you.

"No, trust me, if you could beat me then this whole fight would be pointless." Naruto said, glaring at the Inuzuka.

"Why you little-" Kiba made to punch Naruto, but was stopped by Iruka, who forced him to drop Naruto.

"Tell you what Kiba, if you and Sasuke can beat Naruto, then I won't give the class homework for a week. But if you fail to win, the class has twice as much homework, deal?" Iruka said, sweetening the already seemingly guaranteed victory of the two.

"Hmph, if thats how you wanna play it Iruka, I guess I'm game." Kiba said, looking over to Sasuke, who gave a nod in response.

"Is everyone else okay with that then?" Iruka asked, as all the kids began to nod, though one in particular made no motion to respond.

"Alright then, get into your positions boys." Iruka said, as the boys quickly took up a spot in the ring.

"Hey Shikamaru," Choji whispered to his friend in the crowd, "Don't you want no homework?"

"That would be nice Choji, but its gonna be almost impossible to get today." Shikamaru lazily drawled.

"What do you mean, the two best in the class are going to fight the transfer student, its a guaranteed win." Choji said, confused by his friends actions.

"No Choji, its the other way around. Look at Naruto for a second, what do you notice about him?" Shikamaru asked, yawning.

"Well, I guess he looks like he knows what he's doing?" Choji said quietly, seeing the stance the young Uzumaki took.

"No, not that Choji, look at his vest, what do you recognize about it?" Shikamaru said, as Choji stared at the vest the young blond wore.

"I think that I've seen it before..." Choji trailed off, before his eyes lit up, "Yeah, all the Chunin wear that vest don't they?" Choji asked, wondering what that had to do with anything, after all it was only a... Choji's eyes widened and he looked at Shikamaru in shock.

"You don't mean..."

"Yep, look forward to that homework buddy." As he said that, Shikamaru laid down on the floor, already certain of the outcome of the fight.

"Hajime!" Iruka shouted, and he watched as Kiba rushed in to fight Naruto, who seemed relaxed as he stood in a weird stance that had his arms behind him, and his legs in a sort of runners stance. He quickly threw a punch at Naruto's face, only for it to be dodged with ease, along with his distraction, the leg sweep he had been aiming form was foiled as well, as Naruto stepped back and away from it, before quickly sidestepping left to avoide the Uchiha who tried to deck him from behind.

"Man, is this all you guys can do?" Naruto said as he continued to dodge each of the moves thrown at him. "I mean, you Inuzuka, your supposed to use your wild style to make your moves unpredictable and uncounterable, but I can easily see where they coming from, and they can be countered just like this..."

Naruto grabbed Kiba's arm and pulled him forward, throwing him off balance, and then brought his knee to Kiba's chest, before ducking a right cross from Sasuke, and jumping into the air, landing with his feet on the Inuzuka's back, knocking the wind out of him instantly. He then turned to Sasuke, who glared at him with hate filled eyes, as every punch and kick he threw from the Uchiha Interceptor Style was thouroughly dodged.

"And you Uchiha, your supposed to rely on speed and counter attacking, but not only do you not have speed, but you just charge in blindly, your style looks something like this..." Naruto waited for Sasuke to throw out his leg, and when he did, he kneed it up, higher into the air, before disappearing before the classes eyes, and to the amazement of everyone, right behind Sasuke. He grabbed the leg, and pulled it even further back, eliciting a yell from the small child, who managed to break free and throw a punch at the blond, only for it to be ducked under, before Naruto hit him in the stomach, causing him to double over before kneeing him in the face, knocking him out as well.

Silence filled the clearing and the class stared in shock as the two taijutsu prodigies of their class were beaten so easily. Iruka cleared his throat, "Well then, I think that is enough taijutsu for today, Sakura-chan, would you go grab the nurse for me please?"

Sakura nodded, and the rest followed Iruka inside to finish their lessons. Everyone stayed a healthy distance from the new blond student, and tried their best to avoid eye-contact.

* * *

"And then he just appeared out of nowhere right behind Sasuke-kun, and knocked him out like this!" Ino said as she made a chopping motion, telling the tale of how her class had gone that day.

"Who was this kid again, Ino?" Inoichi, the father of Ino and Clan head of the Yamanaka clan asked.

"He said his name was Naruto, but get this. Shikamaru said that he's a Chunin, but thats crazy right? No way would someone _my _age be a Chunin." Ino stressed the word "my" because she knew that anyone who was seven was at the academy like everyone else.

"Actually Ino," Inoichi began, "There have been cases of people graduating early, and I think that I might have heard of this kid some time ago. He has some special circumstances I hear." Ino's mind exploded at her father's words. Someone who was only seven years old was a Chunin?!

"But daddy, how could he be _that _good?" Ino asked, doubtful of the blonde menaces skills.

"Well I don't know Ino, I suppose you could always just ask him."

**A/N: _So yeah, totally didn't update like I said I would, but I got kinda bored with this story. I just wrote all this today, and if I feel like it you can probably expect another chapter later this week, just depends on when I am at my laptop. As always, fav and review!_**


	5. Chapter 5: The Beginning of a Career

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Naruto.**_

_**Chapter 5:**_

**The Mysterious Chunin**

It was another fine day in the village of Konohagukure no Sato. The sun was barely beginning to rise as the students of the Konoha Ninja Academy filed in to the building, some excited, and some bored, to start yet another day at the ninja preparatory school. One particular student, who goes by the name Ino Yamanaka, was particulary excited to get class.

_'Today is the day'_ Ino thought to herself, as she sped through the academy doors and down the hall to her classroom, _'Today I am going to figure out every possible aspect of this Naruto kid!'_ Ino squealed to herself at the prospect, knowing that she had to find out every detail of the new kid. Why he was there, where he was from, how he got so strong, and most importantly why he had a _Chunin _vest on, when he was in the academy. Ino sped through the classroom doors, and by Iruka with a very quick hello, and took the seat right next to where she knew Naruto was going to be sitting. As she sat in the seat, she looked around to realize that she was one of the first students here, barring an ever silent Shino and her beloved Sasuke, whose pride seemed to still be wounded from the thrashing it had received in the two on one fight yesterday. She had never been this early to class before, and she had to say that it was, at best, way boring. Leaving her stuff in her current seat, she stalked as quietly as a teenage girl who had a crush on said person she was creeping up on could, and silently approached one of the last Uchiha.

"What do you want Ino?" Sasuke asked, his tone reminiscent of cat that has had enough of a dogs sniffing around. Caught off guard by the question, Ino stood there, in a momentary daze to figure out exactly what it _was _that she wanted.

"Well, uh, you see Sasuke-kun... I just wanted to uh..." Ino paused for a moment to compose herself, before looking the Sasuke in the eye, determined not to be flustered by the boy's cool attitude. "I just wanted to know what you thought of Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hnn, that Dobe?" Sasuke asked, clearly annoyed by the subject which was brought up, "Well, I guess he seems fairly strong, but there is no way that someone like him is on par with me."

"Well, what do you think about the Chunin vest he is wearing then?" Ino asked, wondering why, even after Sasuke was beat by Naruto, he still refused to believe that he was beneath the blond.

"That vest has to be just for show, I mean, why would they put a Chunin in the academy?" Sasuke questioned, unknowingly asking the same thing Ino had asked her father the night before. Suddenly, Iruka spoke, cutting in between the two.

"Actually Sasuke, Naruto is indeed a Chunin." This information shocked the two Academy students, who immediately wondered why someone of that caliber was stuck with them.

"Then, Sensei, why is Naruto in the Academy with us?" Ino asked, genuinely curious to hear the reason.

"Well Ino, when most Genin are promoted to Chunin, they usually have to spend a day teaching the next generation, as a way of passing on the torch, to the next Genin. But given Naruto's age, it was decided that he should attend class instead, so that he can make friends with others of his age, and see how they all stand as well." Iruka responded.

'_It all makes sense now._' Ino thought, until she realized something else. "But Sensei, Naruto didn't seem too intereseted in making friends with anyone here yesterday."

She recalled the way the young blonde had antagonized Sasuke and Kiba, and been downright unsociable in the middle of class. "In fact, he seemed almost hostile."

"Yeah well, about that..." Iruka began, awkwardly laughing at the clear description of the way Naruto acted in class. "Naruto isn't usually like that, in fact, I've met him before, and he was quite friendly. I think he is a little bit mad about the fact that he had to come here and make friends, when he really just wanted to go out and some missions."

"Hnn, the Dobe has a point there, if I was a Chunin, I wouldn't want to be stuck here either." Sasuke said, agreeing with the actions of the Chunin in question.

"Sensei, do you think Naruto will ever snap out of the funk he is in, and actually attempt to make friends with anyone in here?" Ino inquired.

"Well, I think we'll have to wait and see on that one, you know how kids can be with their..." Iruka trailed off, feeling the piercing gaze of the two before him, and he realized that he completely forgot that those he were speaking to were children themselves. '_Damn Shinobi children and their unrealistic level of maturity' _Iruka thought to himself.

"So then Sensei, how strong is Naruto?" Ino asked, eager to know more about the blond enigma. Sasuke as well, looked more interested as she asked this question.

"Well, as far as I know, he is stronger than myself, rumor has it that he took down a B-Rank missing nin from Kumo." This had the two children widen their eyes. A seven year old being able to go toe-to-toe with a B-Rank nin was unheard of! Ino, satisfied with the answers to her questions, went back to the top row where the blonde would be sitting, and took her place next to him; while Sasuke for his part had a gleam in his eye, eager to learn more about the blonde from the original source.

* * *

Naruto sneezed as he finished his last set of taijutsu drills for the morning, a strange occurence for a day as warm as this one. '_I wonder if someone is talking about me._' The boy idly wondered, before dismissing the thought. It was no good to get sidetracked and be late for the... Academy.

'_Man, why does Jiji have to be such a jerk sometimes? I know he means well, but I would rather be helping the village than stuck with these shinobi in training.' _Naruto knew that he didn't have very many friends, but he couldn't really help that, his Sensei had kept him so busy the past few months that he hadn't been able to get much, if at all.

"So what if I don't have friends, it's not like shinobi need them anyways." Naruto muttered.

"Ah, ah, ah Naruto, I wouldn't be so quick to say that if I were you." Naruto whirled around to see his one and only Sensei, Kishiru. "You see Naruto, Shinobi without comrades don't tend to last long on missions, I mean think about it. Your more likely to trust someone you've spoken to and known than someone you've just been assigned to."

Naruto scoffed at his Sensei's words, "Your one to talk Hobo-Sensei, I don't think I've seen you so much as approach any other shinobi since you last tried to hit on that one from the Inuzuka clan."

"H-hey, thats not fair Naruto, you promised not to bring that up! And I didn't hit on her, I just kinda-"

"Save it Sensei, if stalking her for a week to find out her favorite flowers wasn't the stupidest assignment you've given me, then I don't know what was." Naruto said, recalling the humiliating "mission" his sensei had assigned him. Kishiru for his part looked hurt, since when had his student questioned his assignments?

"Yeah well, you have to make friends regardless, so you know what?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear what the green haired man had to say, only for him to stick his tongue out, and disappear in a **Shunshin**.

"I have to have _the _worst teacher in the history of teachers." Naruto said, before gathering his belongings from the clearing and speeding off to class, unkowningly causing a certain silver haired Jonin to sneeze on his pristine, precious book.

* * *

As soon as Naruto walked into the packed classroom, all eyes turned towards him. Ino had spread the news she heard from Iruka like wildfire, and now every kid in the class held Naruto in high regard. He walked up the stairs to the back of class unhurriedly, ignoring the bombardment of questions he recieved from the other students. Reaching the peak of the classroom, he walked over towards his usual spot only to notice that a certain platinum blonde appeared to be eagerly awaiting him; even going so far as to pat the seat next to her, inviting him to sit down. An eerie feeling passed over him, one that sent his shinobi senses into overtime, and before his instincts instantly turned him away from his old seat, and into the one right next to the black haired Aburame, get only a nod of understanding from Shino, who then returned to staring at the center of class. Naruto could understand that, wanting to pay attention and learn to become a better shinobi and hell he had saved him from a potentially lethal situation. He nodded at Shino, who caught it out of the corner of his eye, and smiled beneath his mask. Instant friendship.

"Hey Shikamaru, what just happened up there?" asked a stunned Choji, who had never seen Shino accept anyone that easily.

"Don't ask me man, what goes on up there is too troublesome if you ask me." Shikamaru replied, before returning his head back to his desk, and feigning ignorance once again. Needless to say, the rest of the class was as floored as Choji had been. Even Ino, who had been avoided, couldn't even think to reprimand the blond Chunin, too shocked by the situation to say much.

"Ahem," Iruka cleared his throat, trying his best to break the weird atmosphere that was permeating the air. If he didn't know any better, he would almost say that Shino had made a friend, a fact more shocking than Naruto himself doing so. '_Nah, couldn't be_' Iruka thought to himself, not even wanting to delve into the possibilities that may result if such an event were to occur. However, Iruka wasn't the one to break the atmosphere, but it was a small boy with red markings on his face who did, bursting through the classroom doors on all fours just as the bell for class rang.

"Oh man that was close!" Kiba exhaled, before breathing in another deep gulp of air. If he had been any slower, then he might've missed the bell. He looked up after a moment, and noticed that everyone seemed to be fixated on him and only at that moment did he notice the weird feeling around him.

"Yes Kiba, your just on time, now please head to your seat." Iruka spoke, glad that they somehow escaped a situation that threatened to make them all question it for the rest of the day. Kiba scrambled to his seat, and hurriedly sat down, glad that everyone's focus seemed to once again be on the teacher.

"Alright class, today's lesson will be about..."

* * *

A loud ringing was heard throughout the school, followed by the shuffle of feet as students filed out of the school building. One particular sun-kissed blonde was walking out rather hurriedly, trying to avoid the torrent of female students following behind him at all costs. He shuddered as he remembered the incident which lead to such a horrifying thing.

_*__Cue Flashback*_

_ All the students gathered around the large circular clearing where taijutsu matches were held, currently mesmerized by the sight before them. Iruka, a Chunin for many years, was being pushed back by none other than their own classmate, Naruto Uzumaki._

_ "Is that all you got Iruka Sensei?!" Naruto shouted, blocking a kick, before releasing his own._

_ "Heh, your not a Chunin for nothing, Naruto." Iruka grunted as the force of the young blonde's kick pushed him back slightly. '_Naruto is already astounding, I can't imagine how strong he'll be when he is my age...'

_ Naruto for his part was amazed by his Sensei. He hadn't met another Chunin before Iruka who was able to keep up with him to this extent, and it surprised him. Punch after punch, kick after kick, Iruka seemed to have a counter, block, or dodge for everything he threw at him. Ducking yet another high sweeping kick from his Sensei, Naruto knew that he had to finish this quickly if he was going to have any hope of winning; he may be able to train his body and chakra control to this level, but an adult had natural advantage over a kid his age, something Naruto understood very well. _'Here goes nothing' _Naruto thought, dashing towards Iruka, intent on finishing the fight, one way or the other._

_ Iruka saw Naruto coming at him, and jumped backwards, attempting to buy time to prepare for the blonde's oncoming assault. However, Naruto seemed to grow suddenly faster, and before Iruka knew what was happening, he was sent sprawling out of the sparring ring from a swift roundhouse right to the side of his face. _

_ Panting, Naruto looked around at his classmates, only to find that they were all completely silent. For a moment, Naruto wondered if they thought that what they saw was some kind of fluke, or that the whole thing had been staged, but right before he could speak up to deny that claim, the crowd of children began to cheer, and to Naruto's utter horror, some of the girls began to chant his name, and Naruto knew that the chants of "Naruto-Sama!" would haunt him for the rest of his life._

_*__End Flashback*_

"Hey Naruto!" a voice called out, and the blonde turned back towards the building to see Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and most surprisingly, Sasuke all waving him towards them.

"What's up?" Naruto asked as he jogged the short distance over to them, curious as to what his classmates would want from him.

"Well, we-uh, we wanted to..." Ino began, only to trail off as the blonde looked her in the eyes, his head cocked in an inquisitive way.

"You want...?"

"We, um, we want to..."

"Urghh, we want to hang out with you!" Kiba impatiently shouted, interrupting the blonde duo. "And we want you to teach us how to do some the stuff you did in the spar with Iruka a couple days ago."

Naruto for his part looked flabergasted, he hadn't ever entertained the thought that his classmates would want to learn from him, even if he did beat their primary teacher. Naruto didn't know if he would be able to stomach asking someone his own age for help.

"Well, I mean I guess I could give you a few point-" Naruto was cut off as a large alarm erupted across the village, followed by the voice of the Third Hokage.

"**Attention Konoha residents! Attention all Konoha residents! Evacuate to the shelter immediately! I repeat all Civillians evacuate to the shelter immediately! Shinobi rank Chunin and above please meet in front of the Hokage Tower as soon as possible! Come prepared for battle." **

As the voice faded away, all eyes turned towards Naruto, wondering if he knew what was going on. However, Naruto shook his head.

"You guys need to make your way to the shelter." Naruto said, as he unsealed his bow from its scroll and slung it across his back.

"What, no way! We can help fight, right Sasuke?!" Kiba shouted in anger, but he heard no agreement from the raven haired boy, and turned to him, waiting for his response. Sasuke, however was staring at Naruto, and seeing the steely, determined gaze in the blonde's eyes, he sighed.

"Alright dobe, we'll be going to the shelter, but if you get yourself killed before I get the chance to pummel you, I'm bringing you back from the grave so I can kill you again, got it?" Sasuke said.

"As if I would die, teme." Naruto responded, before **shunshinning **away.

"Naruto..." Ino whispered, worrying for the young blonde, before turning in the opposite direction he had gone, and heading towards the safety of the shelter...

**A/N: So I am going to stop setting deadlines for myself as I never know when I am going to feel in the mood or get the time to write again, I will however apologize for this short chapter and promise the next one to be at least 10k words. I wonder what that warning is about...**

**Well, as always, make sure to follow, fav, review, or a combination of any of those things!**


End file.
